The Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 97-95 on opening night of the NBA 2015-16 regular season. From tip-off, the Bulls’ offense looked much different from offenses during the Tom Thibodeau era and seemed to generate more points more easily. There are three things that we learned after watching the Bulls pull out a close win.
Nikola Mirotic is a capable starter
Doug McDermott looked confident coming off the bench in the Bulls’ season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by: Steven Branscombe – USA TODAY Sports.
With a starting frontcourt pair of Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol, Mirotic was able to operate in space either off the dribble or catch and shoot sets. Mirotic is a savvy scorer who is a good enough ball handler to run the pick and roll, which he did a couple of times. He can drive to the rim from the three-point line because the defense has to respect his jumpshot and defend him tightly. Mirotic burned the Cavs’ defense and looked like he was in mid-season form with 19 points and 9 rebounds despite being in foul trouble for most of the game. It’s only one game, but head coach Fred Hoiberg made the right call in starting “Three-kola.”
The Bulls depth is real
The Bulls’ bench outscored the Cavs’ bench 30-20, as expected. E’Twaun Moore played a solid game and led the second unit with 11 points. Moore is a noticeable upgrade from veteran Kirk Hinrich because Moore is younger and more athletic. Joakim Noah played with the typical amount of energy that he displays every night, until he bumped knees with Cleveland’s Richard Jefferson in the third quarter and did not return. As long as Noah can maintain his health, his energy off the bench will boost the second unit defensively and in terms of energy. He also had four assists.
Taj Gibson played like he never had off-season ankle surgery, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking three shots. The brightest spot from the bench was Doug McDermott, who looked so much more confident than he did last season when he looked like a deer in the headlights. McDermott scored seven of his eight points towards the end of the second quarter where he made a long two, a three-pointer, and then a floater on the baseline. If Dougie McBuckets can maintain his confidence, his scoring off the bench will be a real punch to other teams. Talented rookie Bobby Portis did not even check into the game. The frontcourt may be crowded, but Portis will get his opportunities, especially during stretches where the Bulls play three games in four nights or in back to back games.
Derrick Rose is still a dominant force
Rose scored 18 points on 22 shot attempts, but he could only see clearly through one eye. Considering he missed most of the preseason, Rose’s aggression driving to the rim looked similar to his MVP days. He failed to make a three pointer, but he was able to score in the paint. There was a slight scare when Rose was seen limping and was taken out of the game immediately during the second quarter, but he returned and continued to stay aggressive. As long as he is healthy, Rose is a reliable source of points and clutch fourth quarter play.
Chicago is only 1-0 and have 81 more games to play, so this victory is not indicative of the Bulls’ identity. However, it’s a pretty darn good start to the season by beating their nemesis in LeBron James.